No regrets … sort of

Dale and I were having a philosophical discussion about life’s regrets, and he asked if I had any. He might have been holding his breath as he waited for my response.

I said, “I regret not getting the coconut cake at Barbara’s Fishtrap in Princeton-by-the-Sea.”

The cake looked so perfect, but I was all holier-than-thou about sugar, so I skipped it, and I’ve been thinking about that cake ever since … at least three years. There’s a clear snapshot in my head. I remember staring at the cake display from across the room. And then someone ordered it! Details emerged, and I ogled layers upon layers of pale creamy coco-nutty whipped fluffiness that only coconut lover can appreciate.

Then it was my turn to ask about regrets, as in, “How about you?” For a minute, I thought he’d go deep and reveal a profoundly sad truth from the bowels of his barren tender soul, but then I remembered he’s from Maine.

He said, “I regret not knowing about soft shell crabs when we lived in Pennsylvania.”

Oh, man, I share that regret. We didn’t discover soft shells until we lived in Alabama and started going to New Orleans for mini-vacations. Later, we lived on the Carolina coast, where they were also plentiful. In Texas, we had some good ones in Port Aransas.

The bounties of California are many, but they do not typically include soft shell crabs. Sometimes you’ll see them as an appetizer at an Asian restaurant. The seafood guy at Whole Foods told me they were currently getting fresh ones in every Friday, except we went two Fridays in a row, and they weren’t in.

Thinking about the coconut cake made me nostalgic for a hot fudge sundae. My mother used to treat us to hot fudge sundaes when we were out and about – sometimes at the lunch counter at J.J. Newberry’s, which was in one of the original outdoor malls in Orange County, where I grew up. Sometimes at Helen Grace Chocolates, which was in a strip mall.

I still love a good strip mall!

Anyway, I ate my lifetime supply of ice cream in 1973, when I oh-so-conveniently worked at an ice cream store. I love it when a plan comes together.

The store was a Carvel, with premium ice cream and excellent toppings, which could be scooped from a bin in the walk-in when no one was looking. It was during this unfortunate period when I ate hot fudge sundaes for breakfast, and I’ve been dreaming about them ever since. Seriously.

The closest I ever got was in 1999, when I had stage 3 ovarian cancer and was on chemo and burning calories like there was no tomorrow. Oh, I guess that’s a regrettable choice of words.

Hungry but maybe dying but still all holier-than-thou, I went to some new-fangled yogurt place. The ice cream was not really ice cream and the fudge wasn’t really hot. I threw most of it away. I survived! And so, here we are, and it occurs to me I have time to seek out the best hot fudge sundae this stinking desert has ever seen.

I’m not big on goals, but I’m adding the iconic ice cream creation to my list. List of what? I don’t know … things to do, things to eat, simple pleasures. I’m grateful coconut cake was the biggest regret I could muster, and notwithstanding the art of moderation, I don’t want to say at the end, “Damn, I wish I’d had that hot fudge sundae.”

At the end of it all, I am reminded of my mother. I believe her last words were, “Is there any more See’s?”

8 thoughts on “No regrets … sort of”

  1. Wasn’t going to get an ice cream tonight, but after reading your post, think I will. 🙂 Thanks! Just looked at their flavors this week:

    This Week’s Flavors:

    Salted Caramel
    Triple Belgian Chocolate
    Happy Birthday Cake
    Cha-Cha Matcha Green Tea
    Butter-Me-Up Butter Pecan
    Italian Black Cherry
    Cookie Monster
    Peanut Butter is My Boyfriend
    Java Chippity Chip
    Fresh Strawberry
    Minty Chippy Chocolate
    Southern Pecan Praline

    Now comes the tough part!

    1. Tough choices! I’d probably go with Southern Pecan Praline. Although Peanut Butter is my Boyfriend sounds delightful. Now you’ve talked me into it. Maybe I don’t need a hot fudge sundae after all.

  2. One only needs to look at this body-by-bacon to know that decadent food choices were seldom denied so no regrets there. Yesterday I indulged in blood orange sorbet and orange soda for an end-of-summer float. And a good friend was quick to give me an elbow in the side when I prepared to make a list of regrets at a personal development workshop. “Don’t you write anything! Think about what you’ve learned from those regrets!” Okay, okay but I do regret saying “yes” to some life choices when my gut was screaming “no”. Yes, I learned eventually, just late to the table. That coconut cake sounds delicious. I’ve made a coconut cake and the icing on the cake? – a cream cheese frosting with melted white chocolate!

    1. My goodness, the sorbet float sounds delicious, but you had me at coconut cake with cream cheese frosting. I recall with fondness Red Velvet Cake from my days in the South. As for regrets, I’m not sure which would win — that I said yes more than I should or that I said no more than I should.

  3. Overall I’m more on the salty side of life. When I left the hospital recently, I had to have a sundae immediately. And it felt like being alive again after that long period of Zauberberg atmosphere.

    I like those Italian Black Cherry. Maybe the same as Amarena Cherry?

    1. I had to look up Zauberberg. Must have been grim. Glad you are recovering! I also like salty, oh, and salty and sweet. So many choices.

    1. I remember it being delicious. Now that I’ve given it more thought, the Helen Grace we went to wasn’t a strip mall. Sort of a smaller outdoor mall, but it was on the corner facing the street, so I guess that’s what I’ve been imagining.

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